Parents blast change to New Haven Catholic school's uniform policy

St. Bernadette's School in New Haven will require a new uniform for the girls. Plaid is out, khaki is in. Presley Owens, 6, of East Haven wearing the current skirt.
Mara Lavitt/Register

NEW HAVEN -- Parents at St. Bernadette Catholic School are up in arms over a new uniform policy that eliminates the trademark plaid skirts and jumpers for little girls in favor of less traditional female garb -- khaki pants.

The new policy, which some parents argue will cost them more money because the current uniforms have to be thrown out, was announced in December and will go into effect next fall.

In a letter to parents, Principal Sherry Steines explained the policy change and said it was the result of "many conversations and input from the school survey." The other big uniform change is navy blue polo shirts instead of white ones.

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"Many parents have voiced opinions about the inability to keep the white shirts clean," Steines wrote in the letter.

But some parents say they never took a school survey or had input about the uniforms. They say the change in uniform policy is throwing tradition out the window and they are not happy about it. A petition was circulated and garnered about 20 signatures from parents asking for a meeting with Steines about the issue. That meeting was never granted, the parents say.

"I would like to carry on with the beautiful tradition that the kids wear their proud uniform," said one mother, who asked not to be named.

The uniform change is partly in response to older girls "rolling their skirts" to make them shorter. But several mothers argued the school should simply disallow skirt rolling, like it prohibits nail polish and flashy jewelry, rather than ban skirts.

This week, parents waiting outside to pick up their kids when school let out generally opposed the change.

Parent Brenda Abel said she wants to keep the skirt because she likes the way it looks and it can be expensive to keep buying new uniforms.

"They said the jumper is going to last a couple of years and then, boom, it's gone," she said, adding that tuition at the school is expensive and having to buy new uniforms can be burdensome for working families. Plus, she prefers the look of the skirts and jumpers on the little girls.

"You don't see girls in skirts often, and, if you do, they are often in skirts that are inappropriate," Abel said.

Her daughter, Jessica, a sixth-grader at the school, said she loves the uniform and keeps her skirt at knee length.

For some of the parents, the trademark plaid skirts have a certain recognition factor around town that they want to maintain.

"People see my daughter and they know she goes to St. Bernadette," Kayla Bailey said.

Nancy Owens, who led the petition charge, said the khaki pants will make St. Bernadette students indistinguishable from other students in the city.

But not all parents are opposed to the uniform change. Beth Capotorto, whose daughter is new to St. Bernadette School this year, said she thinks switching to pants is a good idea, especially since the kids often play outside in cold weather.

"My daughter doesn't particularly like slacks, but I think it's fine," she said.

Steines responded to the parents' concerns in a written statement given to the Register, and reiterated her position that the uniform change is a result of feedback she got from parents.

Steines wrote that parents complained about keeping the white shirts clean and rising hemlines of girls who roll their skirts.

"The new uniform is more affordable, alleviates cleaning challenges and will make a neat presentation," Steines wrote.

Specifically, the new policy eliminates the plaid skirts for girls in fifth through eighth grade in favor of khaki pants or skorts, a combination of shorts and a skirt.

Boys in the upper grades wear khaki uniform pants or, in the warmer months, shorts. Both girls and boys may wear a long- or short-sleeved navy blue polo shirt with school emblem, instead of a white shirt, and an optional navy blue vest.

Older girls may not wear shorts.

For students in kindergarten through fourth grade, girls and boys will wear khaki uniform pants from Oct. 15 to April 15 and shorts in the warmer months. They, too, will wear navy blue polo shirts and optional vest.